


but i'm a jinx!

by marleah



Category: Among Us (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: AU, Among Us, Corpse Husband - Freeform, M/M, Mark - Freeform, Mask, disguised toast - Freeform, if anyone says they are uncomfortable with this i will take it down, soulmark, soulmate, sykkuno - Freeform, valkyrae - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:48:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28068807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marleah/pseuds/marleah
Summary: "But if you know it's him, why haven't you told him? I mean --""I can't." he mumbled."What do you mean? I know he has feelings for you, everyone can kinda tell at this point, so -""Rae. I can't do that to Sykkuno. I'm like a jinx, always have been, and I refuse to put him through that! I can't. Okay?"
Relationships: Corpse Husband & Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF), Corpse Husband/Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 60
Kudos: 617





	1. oh, don't you dare

**Author's Note:**

> The short little chapter where they meet :)
> 
> i would like to preface this by saying that i ship the personas of these people and not the people themselves, and if any of these creators state that they are uncomfortable with fanfictions or anything like that, i will immediately take this down. if they've mentioned something about that already but i haven't deleted this fic yet, please just drop me a comment to let me know! thank you :)

"Corpse Husband, the man with the best voice you will ever hear."

Sykkuno didn't know it, but with that sentence, his life was about to change. 

He could just _hear_ Toast's smirk through the mic. "Ooh, Sykkuno, you gonna take that?"

"Wait, Sykkuno, those are fighting words." That was Rae. Of course. 

"Oh, believe me, you will all side with him when he gets here." Jack said. 

They engaged in a teasing banter about Corpse and Sykkuno in a 'voice duel', and then he arrived. 

"Oh, we got Mr Corpse here." Sykkuno spoke to his chat. Jack had said Corpse was a really good impostor, so this would probably be an interesting game. 

"Yo Corpse, what's going on?" Jack said. 

"Hello, friend." Corpse said, and the Discord chat erupted with resounding "ohhh"s and "oh my god!". 

"Kick Sykkuno, kick Sykkuno!" Ludwig laughed.

"Hi, Mr - wait, what?" Sykkuno laughed, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth as usual. "Hi Mr Corpse!" 

"Hello." Corpse replied. 

Wow, this man's voice was really something else. Sykkuno had never found a voice this intriguing before. Even after the stream had ended, he was still thinking about it. He decided to go search Corpse up on the internet -- maybe he'd find something he could talk to Corpse about next time! He'd felt a little bad when everyone bombarded Corpse with questions about his voice -- but he'd appeared to have just taken it in his stride. 

_Corpse Husband_

And then Sykkuno's hand froze over the mouse. 

The _mask_ in that image of Corpse. 

He looked down at the soulmark on his right wrist, and then up at the screen, and then down, and then up...

And then he got dizzy and decided that was enough for today. 

In what felt like a daze, he turned everything off, took out his earpieces, walked to his bed and sat down. He subconsciously traced the gentle black-and-white soulmark on his wrist, and caught Bimbus as the little dog jumped onto his lap. 

And oh _shit,_ they were supposed to play again in the next few days. 

"I can just play, right?" Sykkuno said to himself, scratching Bimbus behind the ears. "Yeah. I can just play. Playing is fine! I don't have to tell him anything yet, right Bimbus? We don't wanna scare our friend Corpse away so soon... everyone's been asking him questions about what he looks like and stuff, I just want him to have a good time playing here."

Bimbus barked, and Sykkuno took that as agreement. "Thanks, Bimbus." he laughed. 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

It had been a few weeks since that incident, which Sykkuno referred to in his head as 'The Meeting'. Since then, he felt he could definitely - possibly - uh, _maybe_ say that he and Corpse had become closer. In fact, him, Corpse, Rae and Toast were pretty much pretty close friends altogether. 

And throughout this course of time, Sykkuno had made one very important decision -- he would not be telling Corpse about the soulmark. 


	2. happy halloween!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corpse's POV, with the cat ears situation as a bonus.

"Jooooooin. C'mon, you know you want to..."

  


"Don't be a bitch." Corpse said, but he was amused by Rae's attempts at persuasion all the same. "I'm busy right now."

  


"Oh." She paused. "This wouldn't have anything to do with you-know-what, would it?"

  


"I do not, in fact, know. What?"

  


"Your... your soulmark." she said hesitantly. 

  


Corpse shook his head. "I know you think it's him, but I'm telling you, I really, really, do not think so. And genuinely, Rae, I'm just busy." 

  


"Why wouldn't it be him? It's literally the Among Us plant accessory with a vine wrapped around it in an S!" 

  


Corpse laughed, rubbing his thumb over his soulmark on his wrist. "Look, Rae, I'm just saying, the universe could not possibly have given me Sykkuno."

  


"Why the heck not?"

  


"Oops, disconnecting. AAAAAAA..." Corpse yelled into the phone before hanging up, and then he chuckled to himself. His soulmate, _Sykkuno_? Nah. Every single vibe about Sykkuno just yelled _Pure And Good And Deserves The World._ Corpse wasn't about to try and promise Sykkuno something he wasn't sure he could give him. It was Sykkuno, for fuck's sake. Sweet, funny, amazing Sykkuno. Amazing just as he was. 

  


No, he was not simping. 

  


And he hadn't lied to Rae, he was actually busy, he had some lyrics he wanted to finish writing for his newest release. He pulled up a notebook and started thinking, humming as he really got into it and started writing out a few random lyrics. 

  


After a while, he stopped, frowned, and canceled out a few lines he'd written. As much as he tried, he couldn't think of the perfect lyric to finish the verse. Still humming under his breath, Corpse sighed and fiddled with his pencil, throwing it up in the air and catching it between his fingers as he just tried to _think._

  


It was coming... It was coming...

  


Then...

_  
_

_Bzz... Bzz..._   


_  
_

"Fuck!" he sighed. 

  


"Hello, Rae, what's up?"

  


"Corpse, are you on Sykkuno's stream?"

  


"No, I told you I was busy. Why, what's up?" He started spinning the pencil between his fingers. Round and round and round, 

  


"He's wearing _cat ears_." 

  


And on to the ground. 

  


"The _fuck_? Are you serious?"

  


"Log on and see for yourself, hurry up!"

  


Corpse was moderately shocked at the thought of Sykkuno in cat ears, but as he typed in the web address and entered the stream, he just knew he was actually just going to lose it completely. "This has got to be fuckin' edited or something, right?" he said, eyes transfixed on the screen. 

  


"It's not, those are from Scarra or something. C'mon Corpse, you have to play now! Look, he's wearing them for you!"

  


"Shut the fuck up, he's not doing it for me..."

  


"Oh right, his song, cat girls are ruining his life!"

  


Corpse froze. There was no way that had just come out of Sykkuno's mouth. He wasn't even aware the older man listened to any of his songs. Did he even like that kind of music? 

  


Rae let out a gleeful laugh. "Come on, Corpse!"

  


"Eh, I'm a guy though. Do you think Corpse would -" and then Sykkuno burst into laughter. Corpse slammed his head onto his hands. "You're fucking joking..." he groaned. "You're so fucking cute, Sykkuno..."

  


"Oh god, you think he's cute!" 

  


"Shut the fuck _up,_ Rae!" Corpse exclaimed, and then punched the end call button. "You're kidding, there's no way this is happening, oh my god, what the fuck... Sykkuno... cat ears..."

  


He slowly closed his notebook and just stared straight at the screen, trying his best to just compose himself. He muted the stream before he could hear anything that would make him want to call Sykkuno right now and yell _PLEASE BE MY FUCKING SOULMATE._ His heart was hammering in his chest, his blood pressure and his heart rate were simultaneously rising. He took several deep breaths and closed his eyes. Holy _shit._

  


Then his phone buzzed again. He looked down, praying it wasn't Rae coming back and telling him Sykkuno had just done something else like quote his lyrics on stream. 

  


Oh, Instagram. Okay, that was pretty harmless. Sykkuno barely posted on Instagram except for his dog, right, so, 

  


_1 new post from sykkuwu._   


_  
_

Corpse knocked his head against the computer screen, and then realised if he knocked himself out he wouldn't be able to actually see what Sykkuno posted. Maybe it was just another picture of Bimbus, yeah, wholesome content, right?

  


"Holy fucking shit." 

  


It was a photo of Sykkuno himself, in the cat ears, captioned "happy halloween !". 

  


"Yeah, it's a fucking happy halloween..." Corpse shook his head. Sykkuno was going to be the death of him. He had to react to this somehow, he just had to. There was no way any sane human being could scroll past Sykkuno's post and not even give it a like. 

  


So he gave it a like. 

  


_Yes, yes, I see._   


_  
_

Then he shut off his phone, put it face down, and decided a safer bet was to knock his head on his keyboard instead. And in doing so, he accidentally unmuted the stream, and then...

  


"Wait, guys, Corpse responded on Instagram!"

  


His eyes widened mid-head-keyboard hit. "This is where I just completely go insane, isn't it?" he mumbled, and looked up at the screen. 

  


"Oh god, Corpse actually responded on Instagram! He said 'yes, yes, I see'. Oh, uhh, I think he liked it maybe, I don't know..."He did not just say _maybe _..." Corpse mumbled, half laughing in shock because he was _this close_ to just fainting in his chair. He was literally gripping the desk so hard, he was convinced it was about to break. __

__  
_ _

___Ping._   
_ _

___  
_ _ _

__If that's from Sykkuno, I will just never leave this chair ever again, Corpse told himself. Mentally preparing himself, he picked up the phone. It was a text from Rae._ _

__  
_ _

___Rae_   
_ _

__wait, guys, corpse responded on instagram! ALL YOU SAID WAS YES, YES I SEE?????_ _

__  
_ _

___corpse_husband_   
_ _

__i am this close from having a mental breakdown right here because of it. this should not be allowed. being this adorable should just be illegal. sykkuno should just be carted off to jail this minute._ _

__  
_ _

___Rae_   
_ _

__join the game!!!! u know u want to!!! u can say hi and see him in the cat ears!!!_ _

__  
_ _

___corpse_husband_   
_ _

__I'M ALREADY FUCKING SEEING IT_ _

__Trust me, I'm seeing it alright. I can see it. It's right in my fuckin face._ _

__  
_ _

___Rae_   
_ _

__join the game._ _

__  
_ _

___corpse_husband_   
_ _

__...fine_ _

__  
_ _

__So he joined. Put in a username with a hint of Sykkuno (CORPSE CAT) and then he started trying to make his way around this place, because _where the fuck was this_ and _where the hell was everyone_ and _where the hell was Sykkuno???__ _

___  
_ _ _

__"Corpse!" That sounded like Scarra. "Oh, hey."_ _

__  
_ _

__He joined up with the few people he knew, and they started running around together. At some point, Corpse decided to stand in a corner because honestly, he had no idea what the fuck he was doing. He watched them fight around for a bit._ _

__  
_ _

___Where's Sykkuno though?_   
_ _

___  
_ _ _

__"I heard that Sykkuno has ears on, is that true?"_ _

__  
_ _

__The question just came out. He wasn't even really intending for it to. Probably a less conspicuous question would have been _hey, does anyone know where Sykkuno is?_ But Scarra had apparently been the one who gifted Sykkuno the ears, and Corpse really wanted to know if Sykkuno was gonna be keeping those. _ _

__  
_ _

__"Yes," Scarra said. "He took mine."_ _

__  
_ _

__"...are you interested?" Lily teased._ _

__  
_ _

__Corpse didn't need to see his reflection to know his face was turning the brightest shade of red possible. "I just.. I think it'd be really funny, if he was, I just wanted to see if it was funny or not."_ _

__  
_ _

__"Mhm. Alright." Scarra replied, and the game continued, but Corpse had a feeling that that "mhm" was a little too suggestive for his friends to just let it slide._ _

__  
_ _

___Fuck, what am I doing?_   
_ _

___  
_ _ _

__He just knew he was going to be teased mercilessly for this, especially if Rae caught wind of it. He gave a rueful smile and continued following Scarra and Lily around, trying to help them out wherever he could._ _

__  
_ _

__But also, out of the corner of his eye, looking out to see if Sykkuno was around._ _

__  
_ _

__At some point Scarra split from them, and Corpse and Lily were left walking around by themselves. Honestly, if he didn't find Sykkuno soon, he was just going to fucking call him._ _

__  
_ _

__"Oh, hey Corpse." That was Toast._ _

__  
_ _

__"Hi -" Corpse began, but then from somewhere in front of him he heard an excited "Corpse? Oh, Corpse, it's you!"_ _

__  
_ _

___Oh my god, it's Sykkuno._   
_ _

___  
_ _ _

___Okay, be cool._ _ _

___  
_ _ _

__"Hi, hi, yeah, hello, um..."_ _

__  
_ _

__Corpse, pull yourself together, I swear, he scolded himself._ _

__  
_ _

__"I wore some cat ears today, I thought you would -"_ _

__  
_ _

__He had been so close to pulling himself together, and then Sykkuno just had to..._ _

__  
_ _

__"Yeah, I've been hearing some rumours." Corpse smirked._ _

__  
_ _

__"I'm not a cat _girl_ , though but I, um -"_ _

__  
_ _

___Fuck that, I like you more._   
_ _

___  
_ _ _

__"You ever played this game before?"_ _

__  
_ _

__"No, actually, someone just tried to kill me and I told them I was RPing as a soldier, you know -"_ _

__  
_ _

__"Yeah, most of the monsters I just try and reason with them." Sykkuno laughed._ _

__  
_ _

__Corpse laughed and shifted the bracelets on his right wrist, and then his thumb unintentionally passed over the little mark. His eyes widened and he swallowed. Okay, calm down, he reasoned. You already told Rae he's not your soulmate and you know it, so there's no reason to keep your hopes up, just calm down -_ _

__  
_ _

__"Yeah, um, don't turn around, Corpse, oh no, RUN, CORPSE, RUN, OH JESUS -"_ _

__  
_ _

__Corpse turned around and a monster was staring him right in the face. "Oh, fuck." he mumbled, muting himself. He turned and ran after Sykkuno. _If this thing kills Sykkuno, I'll slaughter it. Don't fucking touch Sykkuno.__ _

___  
_ _ _

__He cracked a joke around Sykkuno, ("He won't touch me, I'm verified on Instagram") and heard him laugh, and that was enough to just calm him down for the time being. For the rest of the stream, he was able to play pretty normally. Still playing around, joking around with Sykkuno, and firmly ignoring the mark sitting on his right wrist. Out of sight, out of mind._ _

__  
_ _

__**oOoOoOoOoOo**   
_ _

__**  
** _ _

__After Corpse logged off, he decided he just needed to take some time to himself. He shut off his computer, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath._ _

__  
_ _

__"Look, you know he's not your soulmate." he muttered out loud. "Sykkuno... no one deserves Sykkuno. Stop getting your hopes up."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scenes in which Corpse interacts with Scarra and Lily & when he meets Sykkuno in the game are real scenes taken from the streamers' livestreams! Full credit goes to them and these are the links I could find :) 
> 
> Sykkuno's - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/788330778  
> Scarra's - https://www.twitch.tv/videos/788271080
> 
> I just wanted to write about this moment because it's always been pretty cute to watch HAHAH but I promise with the next chapters comes more of my original content!! I hope you guys liked how I tried to frame Corpse's thoughts in this chapter. 
> 
> I'm sorry if the writing is bad -- I'm more than a little rusty because this is the first thing I've written in a while. But I hope you stay to watch me try and improve it <3 love you guys and thank you so much for the comments and kudos !!


	3. the great protector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the streamers suggest spending the day together, and they beg Corpse to come. His answer was based only on one factor, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also in this fic we shall pretend covid does not exist hfjhsdjfhjdsf

> _for you, anything._

Sykkuno eagerly started his stream for the day. "Alright, hi guys, today we're gonna be playing a... little bit of Among Us, I think! We're supposed to be playing in a few minutes, but no one seems to be in the Discord yet, so we'll just wait around a little bit."

He read out a few subs, and then reverted to the chat. "Is Corpse playing today? Uh, I hope so. You guys know we like playing with Corpse, yeah?" 

"'You guys should meet soon'. Yeah, honestly, I hope we do one day, Corpse is really cool but it'd be pretty nice to see him in real life and just talk to him, you know!"

Little did he know just how soon his wish was going to come true.

When everyone had joined a lobby, the topic of parties came up somehow as they waited for Corpse. Rae was laughing as she looked back on her most embarrassing experience at a party.

"And then I just had my head on the couch, and everyone was staring at me like 'Oh my god! Is she okay?' and the truth was that I just didn't really want to interact with anyone at the party anymore, but by that time there were so many people around, it'd have been embarrassing to just look back up and be like 'Yeah guys, I'm okay!'"

Sykkuno laughed. "For me personally, I've never really been to more than I think two parties, you know? Just wasn't much of a party-goer, I guess."

"What? Oh my god, Sykkuno! We have to have a party soon with all of us and give Sykkuno, like, the ultimate party experience." Rae said. 

To Sykkuno's surprise, there were resounding agreements from almost everyone in the lobby. "Wait, what? No guys, you don't have to do that for me."

"Think of it as us doing something for ourselves as well, then." Jack laughed. "We've all wanted to meet for some time already, haven't we? So, I mean, might as well!"

Just then, Corpse connected to the Discord call, and his black Among Us avatar appeared in the lobby. 

Eager to escape the awkward situation, Sykkuno seized his chance. "Oh, hey, hi Corpse!"

"Hey Sykkuno, what's up?"

Oh, he really did like Corpse's voice though. The bass-like quality of his voice just made it really relaxing and calming. He looked at the chat, the sudden spam catching his eye. "'Corpse has a really cool voice'? Yeah, that he does, of course. 'And his laugh is really cute, isn't it?' Oh, ah, yes, of course..." he dissolved into awkward laughter, hand over his mouth. 

"Thank you, Sykkuno." Corpse said, sounding amused amidst 'ohhhs' from the lobby, and Sykkuno's eyes widened. Damn. Did he forget to mute himself?

Of course, he did. 

"Uh, you're welcome, Corpse!" Sykkuno laughed. Inside, he was mortified, to say the least. About two small inconveniences away from losing it, what with the number of times he'd embarrassed himself in front of his soulma - uh, Corpse. But as he heard Corpse's "cute laugh", he decided it was okay to embarrass himself if it made Corpse that happy. "Uh, so what's been going on, Corpse?"

"Corpse, before you answer that, we gotta tell you something!" Ludwig spoke up. 

Oh no, Sykkuno thought. _Here we go._

"Yes, Ludwig?"

"Hypothetically, okay, hyyyypothetically! If we were to throw like, some kind of gathering with like those of us in the lobby right now - would you be there?"

"What kind of gathering?"

"We can just spend the day together, or something, it'll be fun! You don't have to if you don't want to though, no hard feelings!" added Rae. 

"Yeah Corpse, it would be really cool if you came, but you really don't have to if you're uncomfortable or anything. They were just talking about giving me a party experience, or something." Sykkuno spoke up, really not wanting to make Corpse feel suffocated or uncomfortable. 

On the other side of the screen, Corpse furrowed his brows. "A party experience?"

"Yeah, with the alc and games and everything, you know how it is." Ludwig joked. 

"Woah, woah." Toast and Poki were laughing, while Sykkuno let out a "W-what?" and buried his face in his hand. 

"What are you guys doing to my dear, sweet Sykkuno?" Corpse murmured, only half-joking. He subconsciously pulled at the bracelets covering that little soulmark, rubbing it with the pad of his thumb. 

"Sorry, sorry Corpse, he's all yours!" Ludwig said in mock surrender, but there was a teasing lilt to his voice. Corpse knew Ludwig was chill, but he still couldn't resist adding a low "You got that right." and a chuckle before muting himself and watching the rest of the lobby explode with "oh my god"s and various other yells of surprise. 

"So Corpse, would you go though?" Jack said brightly. 

"I'll come protect Sykkuno from you guys, sure." was what the rest of the stream heard Corpse say, with a chuckle. Everyone laughed. 

"Ah, thanks, Corpse!" he heard Sykkuno giggle, and his heart just about flipped.

After a stream in which Corpse just protected Sykkuno every second of the way, suddenly feeling a particular need to, the younger man said goodbye, logged off, ran a hand through his hair, and wondered why the heck he'd agreed to going out in the first place. Usually, he really disliked leaving the house, afraid for his privacy and afraid of recognition. But the others had been nice enough to assure him that as long as he was uncomfortable, he could just voice it and they'd help him out. 

And also, of course, other than finally being able to meet the people who'd been so genuinely kind and accepting to him, there was the chance to finally meet Sykkuno. And to give Sykkuno his first 'party experience', as Sykkuno had mentioned earlier? Corpse would do anything to see Sykkuno happy and having fun, honestly. See his eyes light up as that smile appeared on his face, see Sykkuno laugh and know that he had something to do with that. 

Corpse drummed his fingers on the table, flipping his wrist to see the black and white soulmark there, as clear as day. 

Then suddenly his eyes widened and he felt his heart rate rising, and not triggered by anything particularly good. Fuck. How was he going to hide this mark from the rest of them? 

_But come on, you know it can't be Sykkuno._ he reasoned with himself. _He's not yours, you know that for sure. Just cover it up in case anyone gets the wrong idea, that's all._

But another voice in his head was speaking up. 

_But you know that deep down, you really fucking wish he was. And if he sees it... maybe he'll think so too._

" _Fuck!_ " he swore, slamming his fist down on the table and shoving himself up from his chair. What the fuck was he going to do about this now? 

_Don't be so fucking selfish,_ he thought, clutching his hair so hard he thought it was going to come off. _You can't fucking keep him from the person who really deserves him. And that's sure as hell not you. Practically no one deserves Sykkuno. But the person who does..._ Corpse bit his lip, releasing his hair and rubbing his hands over his face until his vision went blurry. _Fuck, they're so lucky._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter will be the one where they meet! i already have a plan for it and will be in the process of writing it right after i upload this one. 
> 
> leave your feedback in the comments below!!!! see you guys in the next chapter, i hope you'll like it!


	4. what happens then?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Corpse and Sykkuno get advice from Jack and Toast respectively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little longer than the others, but the next chapter will showcase my attempt at writing fluff for yall <3 
> 
> also, i saw a few questions about it, and this is a non-covid au! in other words, for this fic covid doesn't exist.

"I'll come protect Sykkuno from you guys, sure." 

Corpse's words were still ringing in Sykkuno's head when his head touched his pillow that night. A tiny smile kept edging its way onto his face whenever he thought about the fact that Corpse said he'd protect him. 

Someone up in the heavens had _had_ to be looking out for him when Corpse became his soulmate. Whenever he thought about it, he just felt so lucky. Like one of those little green leprechauns had come and, uh, blessed him or something. 

Just for a second, he allowed himself to think about what would happen if he told Corpse about his soulmark. How it would feel to have his lips on his, how it would feel to see the most affectionate sides of Corpse, to feel his strong arms wrapped around him, to tell him he loved him, 

_To tell him he loved him???_

Sykkuno backtracked on his own thoughts. Suddenly he was wide awake, even though it was already 1.30 in the morning. 

To tell him he loved him - was he in love with Corpse? Was that a little too much to be feeling right now? To fall in love with someone just over the internet, over a few times playing games together? 

_But you also talk a lot on Discord. And you call him almost every other night. And you stay on call with him after streams too. And if you're not calling, you're texting. And -_

"Oh, Jesus." 

Well. Maybe he was, uh, possibly, um, perhaps he was... well, _conceivably_ , 

So there was a chance he was in love with Corpse. Sykkuno turned and smashed his face into his pillow. What in the world was he going to do now? 

Okay, so there was a chance these feelings were just coming from the fact that he knew Corpse was his soulmate, because of the mark, and he'd just gotten attached, maybe. 

Actually, that was definitely a possibility. Sykkuno groaned. He lay in bed, wide awake, for about 15 minutes more before he decided what he was going to do. He was not going to tell Corpse anything about the mark, until he was definitely sure of what he wanted. _You can't give him something you're not sure of. Because Corpse is...well, Corpse, and he's just so deserving, and so adorable, and..._

That night went he fell asleep, his dreams were full of a certain curly-haired man. 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

They'd all agreed on meeting at the OfflineTV house for lunch before deciding on any other plans, so Toast had told everyone that they'd need to wake up pretty early to help clean the house up a bit. Personally, Sykkuno wouldn't have minded just ignoring the loud, headache-inducing knocks on his door at 9am, but he knew better than to argue with Toast - and anyway, he was pretty excited for the gathering himself. 

Ludwig had offered to help pick Rae and Poki up from their apartment and drive them there, Leslie and Edison were driving there themselves as well, Corpse had just said he'd take the 2 hour drive since he'd "still be awake early enough anyway", and surprisingly, Jack had agreed to fly in from Brighton, apparently because he had relatives in Los Angeles he'd wanted to visit as well. 

Sykkuno was helping Toast to dust the living room, while Lily was out getting paper plates and utensils, when he realised something odd. "Hey, uh, where're Scarra, Michael and Yvonne?" 

"Yvonne's going to visit her parents for their anniversary, and Scarra's out of town at a convention with Michael and some of his other friends." Toast replied, using a dustcloth to wipe down the coffee table. "But hey, that's pretty good news, isn't it?"

"Why?"

Toast looked up at Sykkuno knowingly, a smirk stretched across his face. "There are two extra rooms, and we have inflatable mattresses, so Rae and Poki can sleep in Yvonne's room, I've already asked. And then Leslie and Edison can take my room, maybe Jack and Lud'll be out here, I'll sleep on the pullout couch, and guess who can take Scarra's room?"

Sykkuno stared back at Toast for a few seconds before a blush covered his entire face. Oh. _Corpse._

The blush definitely didn't go unnoticed by Toast, who just laughed and patted Sykkuno on the shoulder. "Just remember to cover that up so your simp doesn't show too much." he teased, and then went to throw away the dustcloth. 

Oh god, so Corpse was staying over. 

Okay, no big deal. He was calm, he was cool...

"...Sykkuno, why are you dusting that?" 

Sykkuno looked up to see Toast giving him a mildly concerned stare while he had the feather duster stuck on Scarra's mini cactus plant. 

"Uh, plants like to be clean, don't they? So I was just, uh, giving it a little dusting, I guess..." Sykkuno laughed awkwardly and tried his best to pry the duster off the cactus. 

Toast laughed and walked up to him. "Look, Sykkuno, I get that you're worried about Corpse coming over here, considering he's your soulmate and all, but -"

Sykkuno blanched. "Soulmate? Uh, Toast, I think that's going a little far, wouldn't you say, uh..."

Toast raised an eyebrow. "Sykkuno, your soulmark is that mask. I'm pretty sure it's Corpse."

He had to sit down. It just hadn't registered in his mind that other people had seen it. 

Honestly, he had never felt the need to cover up the soulmark around company, he'd honestly just taken to wearing sweaters more often on stream so that he wouldn't accidentally expose it and have people speculating. But to hear Toast saying he knew Corpse was his soulmate -- it just got a little too real when someone said it. 

Toast's brows furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?" 

"I just... I don't know what to do. I'm not sure how I feel about him and I don't want to give him something that I can't promise, and I'm pretty sure he's straight, and I'm kinda really afraid of the rejection." Sykkuno admitted, toying with the strings on his hoodie.

Toast shook his head. "I'm not exactly the best person you could ask about these kinds of things," he began, "but I do know that you have a really big heart, and you shouldn't give it to something you're unsure of. But judging by the things you've said about him, and the fact that you're even considering the outcome of a confession -- I do think maybe you have some feelings for him! And maybe you just need some time to sort it out, and that's okay. If Corpse really deserves your, uh, love and attention, then he'll understand that." He nodded at Sykkuno, and then went to grab the phone to order food. 

Sykkuno slowly sat down and fiddled a bit with the feather duster for absolutely no reason at all, Toast's words whirling through his mind. 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

They were playing a riveting game of Among Us, the hide and seek version, in which crewmates tried to finish their tasks with perfect vision and impostors, with their identity exposed and only 1x vision, ran around trying to go on a mad killing spree. Rae and Toast were the impostors, this time, and to no one's surprise, they killed Sykkuno first. 

"Sykkuno!" Rae exclaimed, as she ran away from his body and after Edison, who let out a very uncharacteristic scream when he saw her red avatar sprinting after him. "You've just been afk at the start of every single round! What's going on with you?"

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about, uh, the...food, it hasn't arrived yet and almost everyone's here."

Leslie shot Sykkuno a knowing look. "Sykkuno, what's the name of your delivery boy... might it be Corpse, by any chance?"

Rae saw the sudden look that appeared on Sykkuno's face, and she was quick to step in. "Honestly, I'm worried about Corpse too - the drive is only two hours and it's half an hour past the time we agreed to meet here. And Jack, his plane landed half an hour ago as well. Should we call them?"

"Okay, Rae and I will give them a call then and give you guys some time to do your tasks." Leslie said. 

"Nothing to worry about, Sykkuno." Ludwig murmured, from where he sat next to Sykkuno. "I'm pretty sure Corpse'll be here soon, stop worrying so much."

"Is it that obvious?" Sykkuno let out a nervous laugh. 

"Pretty much." Ludwig replied. "You've been afk at the start of rounds, you've disconnected the past two rounds to text him, yeah, it's pretty obvious - Oh _fuck,_ Toast, leave me alone!" Ludwig shrieked and frantically smashed his arrow keys. Without looking at Sykkuno, he continued a chaotic dialogue. "Uh, anyway, oh god Toast go _away_! If you did have certain, well, feelings for Corpse -- ah fuck, he killed me. I for one, wouldn't judge you for it." Ludwig reassured him. 

Sykkuno was honestly pretty grateful for that. It may have been his first time meeting Ludwig, but in the time they'd gotten to know each other, Sykkuno really did think Ludwig was a great friend. "Thanks, Lud." he said, shooting him a grateful smile. Ludwig nodded, and they went back to the game. 

It didn't take long before Sykkuno just let Toast kill him, when Rae came back and whispered in his ear. "Uh, my phone's out of battery or something. Could you call Corpse instead?"

He had a sneaking suspicion her phone wasn't actually out of battery, especially since at that moment it lit up with a notification, but he nodded anyway. "Sure, Rae." 

Why would Rae tell that lie, he had no idea. But hey, it gave him an opportunity to call Corpse, and so he did. 

The phone rang twice, and every time it did, Sykkuno's heart thumped. Was Corpse okay? 

He was just about to give up and end the call and go look for the man himself when _finally,_ Corpse replied. 

"Hey, Sykkuno. I'm sorry about not responding, my phone was -"

"Oh god, you're okay!" he said brightly. 

Okay, maybe a little too brightly, because Rae nudged him in the arm and everyone looked up and stared. 

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Why, were you worried about me?" Corpse said, a teasing lilt to his voice. 

Sykkuno blushed and got up from the table, leaving the group behind as he walked into the back kitchen. "Yeah, honestly, I was. What happened? Rae said your drive is only supposed to be two hours."

"My phone died, and I got caught in traffic... and I woke up late." Corpse said sheepishly.

"I don't know whether to be amazed that you actually slept, or mad that I spent all that time being excited for your arrival and you ended up being late." 

"I didn't intend to sleep, I just -- wait, you were _excited_ about me coming?" 

Sykkuno heard a laugh on the other end and his eyes widened. "Uh, is someone there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm with Jack, he got me to pick him up. But wait, I want to hear about you being excited about me."

Sure enough, Sykkuno heard Jack's voice as he shouted, "Hey, does the thought of him get you excited, Sykkuno?" and then Corpse's exasperated "Shut _up_!"

Sykkuno's face was turning the same colour as the apples in the fruit bowl. "I - uh -"

He was saved from answering by Rae, who looked into the kitchen at that moment and asked, "Everything okay? Leslie says Jack didn't pick up, we're a little worried."

"Oh, he's with Corpse." Sykkuno answered. 

"That's great! Are they arriving soon?"

"Hey, are you guys getting here soon?" Sykkuno spoke into the phone. 

"Yeah, we're getting there in about 15 minutes or so, I think, but could you go back to -"

" _Sykkuno!_ Hurry and join the lobby, we're playing a normal game in Polus!" he heard Poki yell from the living room. 

"I think they need me out there, Corpse, I'll see you soon though!" Sykkuno said, and hung up in a panic. Rae was giving him a bright smile, seemingly quite happy about something as they left for the living room. 

He hung up just before he could hear Corpse say "But I need you _here._ " 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

Meanwhile, 15 minutes away from the OfflineTV house, Corpse whacked Jack on the head. 

"Ow! What?" Jack yelped. 

"You... rat fucker..." Corpse muttered, as he stopped at a stoplight. "I didn't get to hear what he had to say." 

Jack chuckled. "I'm sorry, buddy. But we're seeing them in 15 minutes anyway, right?"

Corpse's eyes drifted towards his right wrist, the mark hidden under his thick hoodie sleeve. "Yeah, yeah, we are." 

Jack noticed the expression, and his brows furrowed in concern. "Hey, Corpse... I'm sorry, man, I was just playing around. Are you okay?"

Corpse leaned backwards a little, lifting his hand to adjust his eyepatch. "If I tell you something, can you keep your mouth shut?" 

"Yeah, of course." Jack said, his expression full of worry for his friend. 

"I... okay. I think I like Sykkuno." 

Before continuing, he waited for the blowup, but Jack's expression didn't really change. He started driving as the light turned green, staring at Jack in the rearview mirror. "Did you... hear that?" 

Jack's brow suddenly cleared, and he laughed. "Buddy, if that's what you had to tell me, congratulations on being the last to know." 

Corpse joined in the laughter, Jack's light-heartedness making him feel a bit more secure. "Shut the fuck up. No, but for real, something, er, makes me think it might be... for lack of a better phrase, meant to be, I guess?" His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "I don't know what the fuck to do about it. At the same time, I know that it's probably not meant to be at all, because it's Sykkuno and I don't deserve him, y'know, but something just makes me think I maybe have a chance." 

"Woah, backtrack a bit on that." Jack said. "What do you mean, you don't deserve him?" 

Corpse made eye contact with him in the rearview mirror and shook his head as if to say, _what the fuck._ "Dude, it's Sykkuno." 

"I know, but -"

"He's just so pure and good and... God, he deserves so much better."

Normally, Jack would have teased his friend at seeing the faraway look in his eyes, but he had something else he wanted to say. 

"Okay, let's _say_ \- I still don't think so, but let's just pretend - you don't deserve him, but he wants you. What happens then?"

Corpse didn't have an answer. 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

It really was only 15 minutes, but to Sykkuno it'd seemed more like an hour before Corpse and Jack arrived at the house. 

"I'll get it!" Rae had said when the doorbell rang, and then Jack came in first with his luggage while Corpse locked up his car. 

The room came alive for a second, with everyone getting excited at the new guests and firstly berating Jack for not answering - "Corpse took my portable charger!" - and then asking where Corpse was. 

"He's out locking up his car, but I think he'll be in soon." 

Sykkuno had then made up some excuse about needing to refill his water, and then leaving the empty cup in the kitchen and going out to find Corpse. 

_Oh, wow._

He wasn't intending to stare, didn't want to make the other man nervous, but it was just - Corpse. 

He could just see the outline of his lean physique as he leaned against his car, seemingly trying to catch his breath. His curly hair nicely flopped over one side of his face, with that eye covered by a black eyepatch. His mask may have covered the lower half of his face as well, but all the same, Sykkuno found him attractive.

He also couldn't help but notice that on Corpse's black hoodie, there was, over the left side of his chest, a little embroidery of the Donnie Darko inspired mask. It was, actually, not unlike the mark Sykkuno had on his wrist. He gulped. 

He walked towards Corpse tentatively and stopped just by his side, not wanting to scare the shit out of him since Corpse wasn't looking up. "Hey... you okay?" 

Corpse looked up, and he seemed to let out a breath. "Shit... Sykkuno." 

He turned and suddenly wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a hug that Sykkuno quickly returned, rubbing his hands up and down Corpse's back as he felt his chest shaking.

He couldn't help but think about his thought process that morning -- how he'd thought about how it would feel to hold Corpse, and the... L-word. He cleared his throat. Not now, Sykkuno.

"Corpse, is everything okay?" 

"I - I'm sorry." Corpse stammered, pulling away from Sykkuno and stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black sweatpants. "I just - sorry, I, er, didn't mean to do that."

"No, it's fine, it was nice." Sykkuno smiled. "I- ah, I'd do it again." 

Corpse gave a low chuckle and locked his car. "I'm really glad to see you... well, if you couldn't tell already." 

"I'm glad to see you too, Corpse."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw thank you guys SO much for all your comments it just keeps me motivated to write more and i'm so grateful for all the kind words hehe i love yall!! thank you!!!!!
> 
> as usual you can leave your feedback in the comments below, i love reading them and seeing ways to improve and you're all so nice about it, thank you :)


	5. come hold me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Corpse and Sykkuno have a few Moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my attempt at writing fluff for yall!!! i hope it's not too bad ahah 
> 
> also fun fact: i have been intending to put these moments in the past 2 chapters, but i ended up making those chapters so long that i couldn't put them in FDJSHJSHFJDF ANYWAY! here they are finally!! hope you enjoy <3

> _fuck, come hold me, come hold me, come hold me!_
> 
> _\- fuck, i'm lonely / lauv + anne-marie_

The day had been full of excitement and laughter, of various Among Us games consisting of extremely chaotic moments, of many discussed plans for collab videos that they decided they would save for the next day to film. And finally, after those discussions, the streamers were ready to sit down and relax a bit...

With an extremely relaxing, friendly, courteous game of...

" _Fuck! Shit!_ " 

...Mario Kart. 

"Ludwig, stop swearing at the top of your lungs." 

"Okay, I'll swear at the, uh, middle of my lungs. Fuck! Shit!" 

They were taking turns to play, and at that moment, Sykkuno, Ludwig, Jack, and Poki were vying for first place. 

Sykkuno wasn't doing too well. Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact that he sat directly next to Corpse on the floor (the couches had been filled by the time they got back into the house after meeting outside), and Corpse seemed to enjoy leaning into Sykkuno or laying his head on the latter's shoulder. He'd done it at first when he died first in the first round, and whispered, "You okay with this?" and of course, Sykkuno had no complaints.

So it was really no surprise that Sykkuno's gameplay madly improved when Corpse got up to go use the bathroom. 

"Sykkuno, what the fuck?!" Jack yelped, when Sykkuno somehow just passed him and took the first-place spot. "How did that just happen?" 

"I just got lucky, I guess." Sykkuno laughed nervously as they got closer and closer to the finish line. 

A multitude of obstacles were showing up now, and while Sykkuno had previously only barely avoided them - he had crashed twice in a row when Corpse lay his head on his shoulder and nuzzled into his neck - now he glided between them with ease. 

"Sykkuno, you were holding back on us!" Poki exclaimed, watching Sykkuno cross the finish line in first place. "What was that all about?" 

Corpse walked back from the bathroom, adjusting his mask as he sat down next to Sykkuno again. "What'd I miss?"

"Sykkuno just absolutely killed all of us.. Sykkuno, you're crazy, man..." Ludwig's mouth was almost hanging open at Sykkuno's last-minute win. 

Corpse looked at Sykkuno, pulling his mask down slightly to reveal a pout. "You play better _without_ me?" 

"Uh, I, ah, oh -" Sykkuno collapsed into laughter, hand over his mouth. Everyone else joined in, amidst teasing oohs and ahhs. Corpse himself was laughing, leaning into Sykkuno as he did so. Whether it was intentional or not, Sykkuno made no complaints. Corpse shook his head and lay on Sykkuno's shoulder again. "Mhm. I'll take note. Next time you play a game, I'll exit." 

"Wha - Corpse no, you don't need to do that." Sykkuno chuckled. 

Corpse shrugged and looked up, meeting Sykkuno's eyes. "I'd do anything for you." he said, sounding so serious that Sykkuno almost let himself believe Corpse was for real. Then he saw Corpse's eyes betraying a smile under his mask, and he just shook his head and laughed it off. "Gee, thanks, Corpse." 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

After a few more games of Mario Kart, the whole group was almost tired from all the fun they'd had. So it was Lily's suggestion that perhaps, to end off the day, they could go live on Instagram for a quick Q & A, to which everyone readily agreed. Corpse requested that the camera be blocked from his face, even though it was covered, and everyone obliged. 

Corpse really was insanely grateful for this group of people. They were so accepting and kind and never once made him feel like he was a burden, or that it was an inconvenience to cater to certain things for any individual. He was honestly thankful that he'd met them at all. Especially, of course, Sykkuno. 

He stared at him now, wearing an oversized dark green sweater and grey sweats. He was fiddling with the strings on his hoodie, facing away from the camera from where he sat with Corpse, kind of looking down at the ground. The rest of the group had edged over together, to where the camera was, but Sykkuno had walked back a few minutes later to sit next to him. Corpse thought about how he'd said he would do anything for Sykkuno - he hadn't _meant_ for it to come out like that, even though it was the truth, but he'd meant every word. He'd just smiled because Sykkuno looked so cute when he was shocked.

If Sykkuno hadn't just laughed it off in that adorably awkward way of his, Corpse would have really been tempted to just lean down and give him a kiss to see how he'd react. 

"Corpse!"

Rae calling for him snapped him out of his Sykkuno-trance, realising that a smile had made its way on his face somehow. He looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"They want to know how your day's been." 

"My day's been great, 'cause Sykkuno's here." 

Absolutely right! Masking his feelings with casual flirting. Corpse was a genius! 

Sykkuno laughed. "Wh-what?" he stammered, sort of leaning into Corpse as he did so. Corpse didn't mind, edging himself forward to allow Sykkuno to lie on his chest a bit as he lay his arm on the couch behind them, putting it around Sykkuno. 

"Okay, so as you can see, Corpse hates the rest of us, he's only here for Sykkuno," Poki said, and everyone laughed, but Corpse could tell that they were joking. He chuckled and shook his head. "In all seriousness, I _am_ really grateful for - for you guys." he said, and everyone went "awww." 

"We love you too, Corpse." Jack said, making a kissy face at him. Laughing, Corpse picked up a plastic spoon that had dropped on the floor and he chucked it at Jack, who ducked it. 

Corpse looked down at Sykkuno, who had eased himself into a position laying on Corpse. He chuckled. "Are you really comfortable lying like that?" 

"No," Sykkuno admitted. "But your hoodie's soft, and it felt kinda nice." 

"Get up a bit." Corpse replied, and when Sykkuno did, Corpse moved his leg over to Sykkuno's other side so Sykkuno could sit between his legs. "There. Now you can just lay back, I'll hold you." 

Sykkuno lay back on his chest, seeming slightly apprehensive. "It doesn't - it doesn't bother you, right? Like - this isn't painful, or anything," 

It was kinda painful knowing that this would probably never go beyond a friendship, but Corpse wasn't about to tell Sykkuno that. "No - no, it's okay. Just lay back, I'm fine." 

Sykkuno seemed to relax a bit, laying his head on Corpse's right shoulder. Almost subconsciously, the younger man wrapped his arms around Sykkuno's waist. 

"Aww!" 

Corpse looked up and saw Jack staring at them, hands over his mouth like he'd just seen the cutest thing in the world. (Author's note: yes he did.) Sykkuno blushed slightly and turned his body a bit, leaving the side of his head buried in Corpse's chest. The latter gave a small smile and placed his hand on Sykkuno's head, patting his hair. 

"If you could see what I was seeing, you'd die." Jack said, and everyone else looked up at the pair and let out similar reactions. Ludwig went so far as to pretend to cry.

His fake wails enticed Toast to try and kick him off the couch, to which Ludwig yelled "HEY!" and then promptly pushed Toast, who accidentally shoved Rae as he tried to stop his fall, and then Rae fell off the couch and accidentally dragged Jack and Poki with her. 

Corpse chuckled, and Sykkuno felt the rumble of his chest. Corpse looked down and smiled. "You comfortable?" he murmured. 

"Yeah." Sykkuno replied, smiling back up at him. 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

"Alright, so sleeping arrangements?" Toast had brought up, and Sykkuno felt his heart pounding when he remembered what Toast had said earlier. 

"We have about three or four inflatable mattresses over here." Toast said, "so, is everyone good with sleeping like this? I'll take the pullout couch, Leslie and Edison, you guys can take my room, Jack and Lud can take a mattress each in the hall, Lily you're in your own room, Poki and Rae, you guys can take Yvonne's room since she's out, Sykkuno you're in your own room, and Corpse can take Scarra's." 

"Toast, you don't have to do that, you'd be sleeping on the pullout couch in your own house!" Leslie said. 

"C'mon, man, we're all visiting and you guys were kind enough to host us here." Edison said. "What about if you take Scarra's room and have someone bunk with Sykkuno, since he doesn't have a roommate?" 

"So that someone would be..." Toast began, a look of confusion appearing on his face as he seemed to try and backtrack to the rooming plans he'd just rattled off. 

"Corpse." Rae replied. 

There were no objections, in fact, Corpse let out a chuckle, raised his arm and put it around Sykkuno, and nodded. "Sure." 

Ludwig clapped his hands together. "Great! So Corpse and Sykkuno share a room, and we're done! Alright!" 

"Well, I'm going to go to my room, I've gotta plan my streaming... schedule for the next week." Lily said innocently, getting up and leaving. 

"Ah, Leslie and I are absolutely worn out, we're gonna go too." That was Edison. 

"Poki, let's go check out Yvonne's room!" Rae. 

"Jack, let's go... find the mattresses." Ludwig. 

"And I'll just make my way out of here, since everyone else is." Toast. 

Which left Sykkuno and Corpse sitting out in the hall alone. 

Sykkuno laughed nervously. "Do you... you wanna go to my room?"

Corpse smirked. "Sure, I'll go to your room."

"Ah, no, I meant - uh - oh, god, sorry." Sykkuno broke into laughter, hand covering his mouth.

Corpse shook his head. "You're so cute, God." he mumbled. 

"Sorry, did you say something?" Sykkuno said, nervously playing with his hoodie strings, which instantly gave Corpse butterflies. 

"Hm? No - no I didn't. You wanna go now then?" 

"Sure." 

Sykkuno disentangled himself from Corpse, which left both of them suddenly feeling a bit cold. Sykkuno laughed it off as usual, and Corpse just smiled and chuckled, shaking his head. 

Corpse followed Sykkuno into his room, not entirely sure what to expect. Then he looked in and realised that there was absolutely nothing else Sykkuno's room could have been. Neat, tidy, albeit with some laundry in a basket in the corner, and tiny little plants on the windowsill. Corpse laughed, shaking his head. "Your room is almost as adorable as you." 

Sykkuno blushed for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "Th-thanks, I guess." 

"I'm probably gonna turn in if you don't mind." Corpse said. 

God, his voice was even more attractive in person, Sykkuno thought. 

"No, that's okay. I'm a little tired too." 

"Uh, where do you guys keep the mattresses...?" 

Sykkuno was about to lead Corpse to the storeroom when he stepped on something on the floor and almost fell over.

Instantly, honestly instinctively, Corpse ran forward and caught Sykkuno in his arms. "You okay there?" he said, concernedly. 

Sykkuno was honestly internally freaking out. Corpse's more-than-capable arms were holding him steady, and their faces were just inches apart. _The way this kind of feels like a movie,_ Sykkuno thought. His eyes looked over Corpse's mask, eyepatch, and then he looked him right in the eyes and almost fell over anyway. "Uh... y-yeah." 

Corpse seemed to hesitate, then he quickly pressed a kiss to Sykkuno's forehead and let him go, steadying him. "Good. Uh, so the mattresses are..." 

"Um. Down the hall, you turn, uh, left, there's a storeroom and the boxes are labelled." 

"Got that, thanks." 

He turned and left the room, and Sykkuno leaned back and flopped onto his bed as his fingers traced where Corpse had kissed him. Oh, Jesus, indeed. 

Meanwhile, Corpse was leaning against Sykkuno's door. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. 

He had _kissed_ him on the forehead. He hadn't been planning to - though of course, he wanted to, but he hadn't actually planned on doing it, he just - 

Corpse groaned and kind of slid down to the ground. _Pull yourself together_ , he told himself firmly for what seemed like the hundredth time since he'd arrived. _You know you can't have him, don't deserve him, whatever it is. Bottom line, he's not yours and you shouldn't've done that..._

Then Jack's words raced through his mind. _Say you don't deserve him, but he wants you. What happens then?_

Corpse sighed and put his face in his hands. "Fuck."

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

It started raining later that night. 

Just a bit at first, and then it got heavier, and heavier until the thunderstorm crashed against Sykkuno's window. Quite frankly, he couldn't sleep. 

Honestly, he was kind of afraid of thunderstorms. Loud noises never really sat well with him, it made him feel anxious. He sat up in his bed, wrapping his blanket around his knees and and setting his head on his hands. He sighed. 

Just then, as if on cue, a particularly loud clap of thunder sounded and Sykkuno involuntarily yelped. 

On a mattress next to the bed, Corpse was still awake, and Sykkuno's shout instantly made him shoot up in bed. "Sykkuno?" he murmured, shifting himself onto his knees and leaning over to see over the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Uh... I..."

"It's okay if you're not." His voice was quiet, but calming. Sykkuno latched on to the thought of Corpse's voice. 

"I'm just a little... uncomfortable with the, uh, loud noises, that's all. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up -"

"Hey, no, no, that's okay." Corpse clambered onto the bed, sitting at the edge of it. "You need some comfort?" he asked, and Sykkuno could just hear the smile in his voice. He laughed and moved over. "Sure... can you come up here?" 

"No problem." Corpse shifted himself up and crawled up right next to Sykkuno. "Come here." 

He pulled Sykkuno into a hug and let the older man's head fall against his chest, like they'd been doing in the afternoon. "I don't really enjoy thunderstorms either." he said, moving his legs to either side of Sykkuno and wrapping his arms back around his waist. He moved one hand up to Sykkuno's head and stroked his hair. 

"You feeling better?" he asked, after a while of Sykkuno nuzzling himself against Corpse's chest. 

"Mhm." Sykkuno replied, and turned sideways, wrapping one arm around Corpse's neck and shoulders, leaning his head into the crook of Corpse's neck. "Thanks, Corpse." 

Corpse nodded and turned his head, pressing his lips to Sykkuno's hair. "You'll be okay as long as you're with me, I promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY THAT LAST MOMENT WAS A LITTLE SHORT LMAO HFJDKSHFKDHFJF 
> 
> as always, you can leave your feedback in the comments below, i'd absolutely love to read it <3


	6. happy thanksgiving!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Thanksgiving, and the streamers go around the table stating what they're thankful for, but Sykkuno accidentally lets something slip...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd like to apologize for being gone so long!! school was kicking my ass and ao3 deleted the first draft of this fic that i had written so i was honestly lowkey unmotivated to start again HFJDSHDJF but here i am now!!! i hope you guys enjoy and i promise more regular updates <3

> _because i just can't face it_
> 
> _it's you..._
> 
> iT's yOu / ZAYN

Sykkuno woke up that morning after hearing Toast bang on his bedroom door. The latter had gone ahead and planned a schedule of the day so that the streamers' could all finish filming each others' collaboration videos, since some of them could only be there three more days before having to head home. And it started with them waking up bright and early to start the day - brighter and earlier than Sykkuno would personally have preferred. 

He grunted and cleared his throat, shifting his arm onto the bed to push himself up -- 

Wait. That wasn't a bed. 

The surface under Sykkuno's hand shifted. 

Yeah, that definitely wasn't a bed. 

Sykkuno looked down, realising his hand was splayed across Corpse's chest. So falling asleep with Corpse hadn't been a dream after all. 

His eyes trailed down subconsciously to Corpse's lightly toned abs. He'd probably taken his shirt off sometime during the night. Holy shit. He _had_ told Sykkuno that he worked out or exercised sometimes when he could, but this was still a very _wow_ moment for Sykkuno. There was no other way to describe it. Gosh, he was so lucky. 

"I could send you a picture if you really like what you see that much." 

Sykkuno turned around so fast he felt it was a miracle he didn't get whiplash. "Jesus, Corpse!"

Corpse chuckled, shifting himself up so he could look at Sykkuno. "Good morning to you too, Sykkuno. How'd you sleep?"

"Uh, good, I - um. Sorry for staring - uhh anyways how'd _you_ sleep, Corpse?"

"I didn't mean to go to sleep with this eyepatch, this shit fucking hurts." Corpse replied, pulling the eyepatch off and rubbing his eye. 

Sykkuno frowned at the dark circles under the other man's eyes. "Did you sleep at all?"

Corpse shrugged. "An hour, two hours, tops. It's the most I've gotten in the past few days, so that's a win in my book, I guess." 

"That shouldn't _be_ a win, in the first place, you should get more sleep! Oh God, it wasn't because of me, was it? I'm sorry..." Sykkuno's voice trailed off, and Corpse's hand instantly reached up to rest on his shoulder. 

"It _wasn't_ , Sykkuno, trust me. I like being with you, anyway, so even if it was your fault, I wouldn't mind." 

"Well I'm super thankful for you being here, Corpse, so I guess that works out great for us." Sykkuno smiled. 

Corpse was _so_ tempted to kiss him right now. Sykkuno was so fucking precious. 

"I'm really thankful to be here, with you - uh, with you guys. It feels great to meet everyone in person, I really hope we get to do this again sometime." 

"Oh, all this thanking reminds me!" 

Sykkuno almost vaulted off the bed and jumped up, flipping the date on the calendar on his desk. "Happy Thanksgiving, Corpse!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, Sykkuno. You seem really excited for this one." Corpse laughed, watching Sykkuno smile and watching his eyes light up. God, he was fucking amazing. 

"I am, I am. I really like that there's a day to, well, be thankful for what we have, you know? We have this thing, too, where we go around the table and say what we're thankful for, and it just feels really nice."

"Well, I've never celebrated Thanksgiving like this before, but I'll try." 

"For you." Corpse added, the side of his lips tugging up in a smile. 

Sykkuno blushed, his hand moving up to cover his mouth. "I should probably go brush my teeth or something before I give you all my thankfulness for the day. Which wouldn't be a bad thing, though, but I - uh - yeah." He shot a bashful smile at Corpse before leaving the room. 

Corpse lay back on the bed, smiling up at the ceiling -- a funny thing he hadn't really done in ages, but there was always an exception when it came to Sykkuno. 

On the other side of the door, Sykkuno was having an internal meltdown as Corpse's words ran round and round in his mind. _For you. For you. For you._

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

Later in the afternoon, the streamers were gathering round the table, preparing to film an extra-special surprise video - Among Us in real life, in the Offline house. They all had cameras attached to the selfie sticks. Corpse used his phone instead, planning to only use the back camera, and placing duct tape over the front camera. 

"I'm going to miss you guys when I have to go." Jack said sadly. 

Everyone let out a chorus of "aww"s and exclamations, and then Sykkuno gently nudged Corpse amidst the conversations everyone was having. "Corpse, are you gonna... are you gonna go home in a few days too?"

Corpse stared back at Sykkuno. "I don't know... why, do you want me to?" 

"No! No, but do _you_ want to?" 

"Do you want me to?"

"Do you want me to want you to?" Sykkuno shot back. 

"Yeah, I want you _too._ " 

Sykkuno didn't even have it in him to let out an 'Oh, Jesus'. 

He just stared at Corpse, his mouth gaping open. 

Corpse smirked and proceeded to innocently act like he hadn't said anything until the game started. 

And as for Sykkuno, he remained in shock for the rest of the game. 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

After finishing the filming of at least two more videos afterwards, the streamers decided to sit together in the living room and relax with a movie. Poki and Toast were engaging in a debate about which movie they should watch, and the rest were watching amusedly. 

"Corpse Bride is _such_ a good movie, Toast! Give me one reason why we shouldn't watch it!"

"I can give you at least seven reasons why we should watch John Wick in place of Corpse Bride." Toast fired back, jokingly placing a hand on his hips. 

"That is _not_ what I asked!" Poki spluttered, but she was laughing. 

Corpse chuckled, looking around the room at his friends, all of whom were laughing at Toast and Poki's antics. He could feel Sykkuno shaking as he laughed, nudging his side into Corpse's. Corpse turned and looked down, his own lips quirking up into a bigger smile as he watched Sykkuno laugh. "You're adorable." he mumbled, shaking his head as he reached up and adjusted his eyepatch. 

"Did you say something, Corpse?" Sykkuno asked, looking up at Corpse, still with the grin on his face. One of the rare moments where he forgot to cover his face. 

"No." Corpse replied smoothly. He pulled at his slightly damp hair -- he'd washed it inbetween filming, and then instantly regretted it when he started to feel self-conscious. 

Sykkuno reached up and pulled his hand away from his hair, frowning at Corpse as if he knew what he was thinking. And honestly, he probably did -- Sykkuno knew him almost like the back of his hand. "Hey, I - I think you still look great, Corpse." he said quietly, shooting Corpse a reassuring smile. 

"Thank you, Sykkuno." Corpse replied, gently smiling back at him. He casually let his arm drop to Sykkuno's other side, but still shooting him a look to make sure he was okay with it. When Sykkuno looked up and gave Corpse a small smile, the latter nodded and looked right back at him. 

Then their moment was broken by a shriek from Toast, who seemed to have a banana squashed onto the front of his shirt. Poki stood in front of him, grinning as she held the remains of the fruit in her hand.

"Okay! Okay! We can watch Corpse Bride!"

Everyone dissolved into laughter, which just gave Sykkuno an excuse to move closer to Corpse, who honestly didn't mind at all. 

"Wow, Corpse Husband watching Corpse Bride." Jack joked, as the movie started. 

Corpse gave him the finger, but he was laughing.

"He definitely is, he's looking right at you, Sykkuno." Rae said innocently from Sykkuno's other side, just loud enough for him to hear. Sykkuno choked on his coffee. "What? No, Rae, that's not - I don't think - I - oh Jesus." 

_But you wish that were true,_ a voice in his head remarked. _Shut up_ , Sykkuno replied. 

"Hm?" Corpse said, looking back at Sykkuno. Rae gave a laugh, pulling her hair to cover her gleeful expression as Corpse shot her a look. The younger man tilted his head to the side and used the arm that was around Sykkuno to shift himself closer. "You okay, Sy?" 

_I love you, Corpse Husband._

"Yeah, I'm fine." 

**oOoOoOoOoOo**

After the movie, the streamers decided to have their Thanksgiving lunch together -- it was an annual tradition in the OfflineTV house. Some of the streamers even had their laptops set up Zoom calling Michael and Scarra, and Yvonne, so they could join in the moment. 

"How's the convention, Scarra?" Toast called, stuffing a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. 

"Good, good... oh, yeah, some guys over here keep asking me whether I could get them in touch with some of you guys! I think they're especially interested in, uh, Corpse and Sykkuno..." 

Corpse, who wore his face mask and had agreed to food being microwaved for him to eat later so he didn't need to show his face, didn't need to look at the screen to see Scarra smirking. The other man had been there when Corpse had aimlessly roamed around when they were playing SCP, just trying to find Sykkuno so he could ask him about the, uh, cat ears. 

"Woah, they wanna meet us?" Sykkuno spoke, and Corpse was surprised to hear Sykkuno sound genuinely shocked. 

"I mean, I get why they'd want to meet Corpse, he's really cool, just look at him!"

Rae was grinning so hard Corpse was sure her face was going to get stuck that way. But he was more focused on the butterflies in his stomach that had appeared the second Sykkuno complimented him. 

"But why me?" 

Corpse raked a hand through his hair. "What do you mean, Sy?" he said, staring right across the table at Sykkuno with a look of concern. "Why wouldn't they want to meet you? I - it's you." 

"Yeah, which is why I don't get why they'd wanna meet me for..." Sykkuno laughed nervously and spooned some mashed potato into his mouth. 

"Oh, she just thinks you're cute! And she's interested in doing some article on up-and-coming gamers and the like, and she said Corpse and Sykkuno would make a good couple for the interview." Michael spoke up. 

_Corpse and Sykkuno would make a good couple._ Corpse pretended that the number of butterflies hadn't tripled when he'd heard that. 

"They would!" said Rae in delight, and Corpse lightly kicked her under the table. 

Or at least, he thought so. 

"Ow!" Ludwig choked on his soup, and Jack had to thump him on the back. "Which one of you here is playing footsies under the table?" he demanded. Corpse heard the joking tone in his voice, but his eyes still widened as he rubbed his temples and stared determinedly at the table.

Which did _not_ go unnoticed by Leslie, who looked up at Corpse wide-eyed. "Corpse, are you alright?" she said innocently, and he plastered a fake smile across his face. 

"Corpse, you playing footsies with me?" Ludwig said, faking blowing a kiss at Corpse, who just laughed and gave him the finger, grateful that they were deviating from what could potentially be an embarrassing moment. 

Then he caught sight of Sykkuno giggling out of the corner of his eye, and his smile became genuine. 

"Alright, it's mid-meal, so it's time for the Offline Thanksgiving tradition..." Toast announced. 

"Alright, let's go!" Edison cheered, and everyone joined in. 

"Okay, so we go around the table and say three things we're thankful for this year." Toast explained. 

Everyone else nodded, and they went around the table appreciating their blessings. The list went from _meeting all of you_ (Corpse), to _this amazing fucking mashed potato Toast I love you God bless you_ (Ludwig), to _Leslie_ (none other than Edison). And then it was Sykkuno's turn. 

Corpse stared interestedly at Sykkuno from under the curls that hung over his face (to help prevent future blushing from being noticeable). The way Sykkuno just smiled and his face practically lit up as he said how thankful he was for his blessings, his whole _cute anime boy!_ personality paired with just the good vibes he gave off in general. 

As Sykkuno's arm lifted up as he ran his hand through his hair, the watch on his wrist slipped slightly, exposing... 

_A tiny black mark of the Donnie-Darko inspired mask._

Corpse's eyes widened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how are u guys doing i hope you're doing well!! lmk your feedback in the comments as usual, and if u ever need anyone to talk to, you can just hmu :) 
> 
> yall see the pun i did in the chap summary haha sykkuno lets something slip
> 
> also if yall want me to post a separate one shot of the among us irl game/the collabs they did in this chapter! lmk!


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